


The Tale of the Cat and the Crow

by MayorOfCanTown



Series: Davekat fluff and prose [3]
Category: Homestuck
Genre: Canon Compliant, Children, Earth C, Fluff, Gen, Humans, Library, M/M, Post canon, Reading Aloud, Trolls, carapacians - Freeform, john being a soft boy whos good with kids, soft
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-11
Updated: 2018-11-11
Packaged: 2019-08-22 09:00:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,228
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16594883
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MayorOfCanTown/pseuds/MayorOfCanTown
Summary: "This book is dedicated to my friends.The people who knew me and always accepted me for who I truly was.I owe the world to you." - John EgbertIllustrations by Dave Strider





	The Tale of the Cat and the Crow

**Author's Note:**

> SO LIKE WHAT IF JOHN WAS SUPER CUTE WITH KIDS IN EARTH C 
> 
> HE HOSTS A THING AT LIBRARIES AND READS TO THE KIDDOS
> 
> ANYWAY ENJOY THIS SHIT
> 
> Oh, and is reading!

The event seemed to have drawn a bit of a crowd: humans, trolls, and carapacians alike. After all, how often does a literal god come to your local library to read to the children? It isn't something that happens every day, obviously.

It's every week, on a Friday morning.

John Egbert, Hero of Breath, the Grand Heir, God of the Wind, etc. etc. took his seat at the front of the crowd of kids with a thin, hardback book in his hands.

"Morning everyone!" The group parroted a greeting back, and he turned the book around to show the cover. "Today, we're going to read this book. Can anybody tell me what the title is?" Lowering it down, he slowly swept the book across the front row, until someone threw their hand up.

"The Cat and The Crow!" they shouted, triumphantly. A couple of the adults shot them a dirty look, but John ignored it; this is time for the children, so they can shout if they want.

"Perfect! The Cat and The Crow is a picture book that I wrote, with pictures by our very own Dave! Give us a wave, Dave!" He gestured to the back, where the blond waved, with an uncharacteristically silent Karkat clinging to his side. Even he respected the rules of the library: especially him, actually, thanks to his passion for literature.

"Anyway! Let's begin, shall we?"

<Once upon a time, a very, very long time ago->

He didn't even finish the first sentence before being interrupted. "Mister John? Mister John? How long ago?" He stifles a chuckle to himself.

"Who here has a grandparent?" About half the kids' hands went up. "Or knows any grandparents?" That's most of them. "Well, this story is older than your grandparents' grandparents."

He waited for the sounds of shock and awe to pass before carrying on.

<Once upon a time, a very, very long time ago, there was a forest full of crows, and a field full of cats. They all lived happily, but they never met each other. The crows never saw any cats->

Turning the book around - after all, he knew it by heart - he showed the children the first page: the forest, with dozens of crows painstakingly drawn in, followed by the second: the field of cats.

<And the cats never saw any crows, not even once.

One day, on a cold winter night, a new crow came to the forest. But this crow was very special...>

He flipped the page, to show a close up of the crow.

<... because he had cat whiskers on his beak!>

That one got a few gasps and muttered exclamations. "Can everyone show me what whiskers look like?" He pinned the book between his knees and raised his hands up, pointing to his nose, to make his fingers look - almost kinda sorta not really but still - like whiskers. Most of them follow, save for a couple of the older kids in the back who are "too cool" for it.

<And, one warm summer morning, a new cat came to the field. But this cat was very special too... because he had wings on his back!>

Another page turned shows the winged cat, and he raised his elbows to flap them like wings. "Careful of people around you!" In hindsight, that was probably a bad idea, but luckily no one was hurt.

<The crow knew that other crows didn't have whiskers. The other crows told him that whiskers were bad. They said mean things and called him names, so the crow pushed them back and hid them under his feathers. Now he looked just like the other crows.>

"But he was special!" piped up a young girl in the second row, sparking a little bit of conversation.

"Yeah, he was special, and he still is! But some people can be mean. Some people don't like people who are different. And that's a bad thing to do," John said, earning a few frowns from the children.

<The cat knew that other cats didn't have wings. The other cats told him that wings were bad. They made fun of him and laughed at him, so the cat tucked his wings by his sides and hid them under his fur. Now he looked just like the other cats.>

More disappointment there: it seemed to John that the kids were already getting the moral without being prompted. Perfect.

<A while later, the crow and the cat both went exploring and ended up finding each other! But the crow saw that the cat had whiskers, and that made him upset. "Why is he allowed whiskers and I'm not?" he thought, and that made him mad.>

Another child waves their hand in the air. "Mister John! Mister John! My friend is brown and I'm grey! Is that bad?"

He let out an airy laugh and ran fingers through his hair. "Of course not, sweetheart! But the crow has always been told that whiskers are bad, but cats are told whiskers are good. So, he feels like the cat is luckier!" That seemed to quell her, so he took a deep breath and flipped the page over again.

<The cat also saw that the crow had wings, and that made him upset too! "Why is he allowed wings and I'm not?" he thought, and that made him mad.>

Still holding the book away from him, he flipped across the page.

<But in time, the cat and the crow got along! The crow taught the cat how to fly, and the cat taught the cat to feel with his whiskers. They didn't have to hide in front of each other!>

<But when they went back to the forest the crows didn't like it. "What is this? He has fur and walks on 4 legs? We don't like him!"> John parroted the lines in the most condescending voice he could muster, and it worked like a charm. First, a few, then well over the half of the crowd responded: "BOOOOOO!"

He waited for it to die down a bit before continuing.

<The cats in the field didn't like it either! "Who is this?" they said. "He has feathers and walks on two legs? We don't like him!"> That got more booing than before, leaving John struggling to keep a smile down - had to keep the immersion, after all.

<So the cat and the crow left them all and went away together, to start their own group! And here, anyone could be free to be who they really were! Before long, some more people turned up...>

A quick glance around the crowd confirmed that scowls had turned to smiles - in this world, kids were already being taught tolerance and acceptance from a very young age.

<... like a rabbit with really big ears!> "What do rabbit ears look like, guys?" John egged the crowd into miming floppy ears on their heads, even the adults weren't safe from John's *you must participate* puppy eyes. Satisfied, he flicked a page over.

<And a person who looked like a dog! And a magical octopus! And lots of other creatures who didn't fit in came, so they stayed together and made a new family! So they all lived happily ever after...>

With one last page turned, John looked up at Dave and Karkat, huddling side-by-side.

<... thanks to the Cat, and his Crow.>

**Author's Note:**

> eavaislufh dskg i hope you enjoyed!! slam that motherfuckin kudos button if you did and be sure to leave a comment  
> please
> 
> i beg you  
> i need them to live
> 
> thank you so much for reading!  
> \- The Mayor :B


End file.
